The Well-Being Journal

Today members of the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council, will release the National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy. This marks the beginning of America’s movement away from a healthcare system that focuses on the sick and chronically diseased, in favor of a system that will put emphasis on prevention and wellness and will help to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life.

Today, 70% of chronic disease is preventable and nearly ½ of all adults have at least one chronic disease. Healthcare.gov states, “Focusing on preventing disease and illness before they occur will create healthier homes, workplaces, schools and communities so that people can live long and productive lives and reduce their healthcare costs.” Every American has a role in creating a healthier nation. Our communities, and economy will reap the rewards.

The National Prevention Strategy includes actions for the public and private sectors. The strategy outlines four strategic directions and they are as follows:

Build Healthy and Safe Community Environments: Prevention of disease starts in our communities and at home; not just in the doctor's office.

Expand Quality Preventive Services in Both Clinical and Community Settings: When people receive preventive care, such as immunizations and cancer screenings, they have better health and lower health care costs.

Empower People to Make Healthy Choices: When people have access to actionable and easy-to-understand information and resources, they are empowered to make healthier choices.

Eliminate Health Disparities: By eliminating disparities in achieving and maintaining health, we can help improve quality of life for all Americans.

So what? This is an important step for our nation. For the first time, we are seeing a visible commitment to health and well-being and a national strategy to that includes both the public and the private sectors working together to create positive change. Also, the government has a collaborative strategy in which 17 federal agencies will work together! This will help to assure cost savings and quality improvement for our citizens.